Three eyewitnesses testified during a triple-homicide jury trial in front of DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt on March 25.
Nakita Walker, 46, is charged with three counts of second-degree murder, fleeing a law enforcement officer, and assault with a dangerous weapon for her alleged involvement in a fatal car crash, which killed Mohamed Kamara, 43, Jonathan Cabrera Mendez, 23, and Olvin Josue Torres Velasquez, 22. The incident occurred on Rock Creek Parkway, NW, on March 15, 2023.
The prosecution called an eyewitness who received immunity for marijuana possession charges for cooperating in the case. The eyewitness claimed to be a friend of Walker’s, but prosecutors said he was her ex-boyfriend.
According to the eyewitness, he and Walker had seen a movie on the night of the incident. The eyewitness admitted to smoking marijuana before the movie, but claimed Walker did not. Prosecutors showed the eyewitness his grand jury testimony, where he claimed Walker had smoked a joint the night of the incident, and he said the account he gave to the grand jury was “not correct.”
The eyewitness then stated he did not remember signing an immunity letter in relation to the marijuana possession charges. Prosecutors showed the eyewitness the letter, which bore his signature, but he claimed he never signed it.
After the movie, Walker drove the eyewitness to the liquor store, where he said he purchased a bottle of Hennessy Cognac. The eyewitness then got back in Walker’s car, and shared some of the bottle with Walker before she dropped him off again at a gas station.
The eyewitness said Walker later returned with two women in her car. Upon re-entering Walker’s car, the eyewitness noticed some liquor was missing from the Hennessy bottle, but he did not know who drank it.
The eyewitness stated that Walker’s behavior seemed off when she returned to the gas station, prompting him to request that drive for the rest of the night, which Walker denied.
Walker and the eyewitness then dropped Walker’s friends off at home and headed for Walker’s residence. The eyewitness then got into a verbal altercation with Walker about who should be driving.
The pair were pulled over by a police officer, who approached Walker’s vehicle on the passenger side, said the eyewitness. The officer began conversing with the eyewitness and allegedly confiscated marijuana from his pocket. At this point, Walker pulled the vehicle away from the traffic stop, believing the officer was harassing the eyewitness. The officer didn’t pursue Walker’s vehicle.
After fleeing the officer, the eyewitness said he told Walker to slow down her car. The eyewitness saw headlights quickly approaching Walker’s vehicle and braced himself for impact as the two cars collided. The eyewitness recalled losing consciousness during the crash, and said the “seatbelt saved [his] life.”
After exiting the car and checking himself for injuries, the eyewitness removed Walker, who was unconscious, from the vehicle and placed her on the pavement. The eyewitness also went to check on those in the other car, stating that two other individuals stopped on the road to assist the victims of the crash. The eyewitness then walked up the road and was met by police who questioned him.
On cross-examination, the eyewitness told Walker’s attorney, Albert Amissah, he had lived at Walker’s house at various points and had previously driven her car.
The eyewitness claimed that during the traffic stop, the officer instructed him to pour out the bottle of Hennessy that he had purchased earlier. He also said that both he and Walker were upset at the way the officer handled the traffic stop, and felt harassed.
The prosecution read the eyewitness’ grand jury testimony, where he claimed he had memory issues.
The eyewitness said he believed the other car may have been responsible for the accident and was the one to make contact with Walker’s vehicle, but he was not sure this was the case.
Prosecutors called an eyewitness who was driving on Rock Creek Parkway with her husband the night of the incident, around 1:30 a. m. According to the eyewitness, another car was driving about five car lengths in front of her and her husband in the right lane when a third car came around a bend, crossed lanes, and hit the car in the right lane.
The eyewitness stated that a tire came off one of the cars and traveled in the direction of her and her husband’s car. The witness said her husband was able to stop, then she called 911 and gave a statement to the police on the scene.
Amissah confirmed with the eyewitness that she was sure the tire came off during the crash, but she was unsure which tire it was since the road was poorly lit.
The prosecution called the eyewitness’s husband, who said he was driving his wife home from work on Rock Creek Parkway. According to the witness, he was driving south in the left lane, and saw another car driving in the same direction about five car lengths in front of him.
The eyewitness stated that he saw another car, driving the opposite direction, cross the yellow lines and hit the car in front of him head-on. The eyewitness said a tire came off one of the cars in the direction of his car, but he was successfully able to dodge it.
Amissah asked the eyewitness whether or not the tire came off before or during the crash. The witness said he believed the tire came off due to the crash, but he wasn’t entirely sure.
The prosecution then called another witness, who identified herself as a friend of Walker’s and stated that she had interacted with Walker on the night of the incident. The friend admitted that she drank wine and smoked PCP that night. Walker, who had been to the movies earlier that night, told her friend that she had not had anything to drink.
Walker’s friend stated that Walker drove her and her neighbor to a gas station in a black Lexus and picked up a man carrying a bottle of liquor and a red solo cup. The friend and her neighbor were then dropped off at home. According to the friend, there was nothing unusual about Walker’s driving.
On cross-examination, the friend claimed that Walker wasn’t drinking alcohol or smoking PCP the night of the incident. However, Walker had told her friend that there was a firearm in the black Lexus.
The prosecution stated that this was the first time the friend had mentioned the presence of a firearm in Walker’s vehicle. The friend claimed she didn’t believe it was important to mention in her grand jury testimony.
At the end of the hearing, all parties questioned a juror who had been sleeping during the testimony of an important witness the day prior. Judge Brandt ultimately decided to excuse the juror from the trial.
The trial is scheduled to resume on March 30.
